And now, the info you are dying to know...

An update on my health. For those of you following my story closely and anxiously awaiting a result on healthy vs. ill, I am happy to report I finished my antiobiotics today. And, as a result I do feel better. Not great yet. However, I would guess that is because of other things thrown into the mix. My face hurts less, in fact, none, my teeth hurt less, and my head is mostly better. I blow my nose less, and it is markedly less green. I am still tired, but I would guess that has more to do with being pregnant, and going potty 2-3 times a night. Actually, it isn't the potty so much. I would guess if I was wearing a diaper, or had a bed pan, it wouldn't bug me. :) (Well, maybe it would, but for other reasons) However, by the time I get out of bed, take the long walk to the bathroom, potty, wash my hands, walk back to bed, and get comfortable, I am sufficiently awake that it takes a while to get back to sleep (sometimes 45 min- hour). Oh well, I can sleep when I am dead, right!?! It ain't gonna get any better with three youngins. So, now you have had an update, and you can all go back to your daily lives. Thanks for caring :)

Happy Halloween!!!

We actually went Trick or Treating last night; we went back to Auburn (they did it last night guessing that Friday night/Halloween night in a college town was not the best time for little kids to run around). We were a bit rushed (trying to get back to Auburn to also get Kaitlyn's 15 month pictures done) so I didn't get pictures before. They had a marvellous time! We met our friends Brian and Angela who have a daughter, 10 mths (I think), dressed as Snow White. Immediatly, Kaitlyn went to Angela, and wouldn't let me hold her the rest of the night. She also wasn't particularly interested in Trick or Treating. She just wanted to be held. But Kari was happy enough for both the little girls. I made Justin stuff the wagon into the trunk, in case the little girls (especially) would want to ride. He ended up hauling the wagon empty until about the last 10 minutes, but, it proved worth it for those last 10 mintues :) Kaitlyn was nestled all snug in the blanket, sinking lower and lower as I am sure she was about to fall asleep. So, I put the girls in their costumes today and did a little mini photo shoot. Most of the pictures are totally staged, but still cute. Notice the sucker Kaitlyn had. She did get candy from the first house, that sucker among the take, and she was sucking the sucker through the wrapper. So, I figured I would take it off. Note the cute blue tinged lips and tongue. Also, the cute curls sticking out from the back of her hat. My cute Kangaroo and Pumpkin. What would I do without them :)

Dance Party

I put in some kids music today. Kaitlyn went to town. She loves music of any kind. She will dance, "lead", clap, etc. Here is just a little preview. Note the cute walk on one toe thing she does for a short period too. She will be musical (like both her parents) and Kari will be Miss Sporty. Maybe #3 will actually like me instead of daddy... Fat chance :)

This time of year

Always brings back certain memories. These being first and foremost Kari getting burned. She wasn't even 10 months olds and she pulled the cord of a frydaddy. She spent almost 4 weeks in the hospital (2 in Norfolk, and 2 in Cincinnati, OH with the Shriners {who are WONDERFUL!!!}) and has 3 seperate skin graft areas along with 2 donor sites. She healed wonderfully and will never know any differently. Thankfully, this year's "anniversary" passed almost without notice. We usually mark the date by having hamburgers and french fries (which was the meal we were in the middle of making when the accident occured). This year was no different. Thank goodness for wonderful family, friends, and church members who made that time in our lives livable. On a side note, it is time for another check up for Kari. It has been 2 years since the last and we will be going up in the middle of November. Again, Thanks to the Shriners who are wonderful and take excellent care of us. Special thanks to my mother who is always thinking of a service opportunity to send blankets/toys/etc to the Shriners. And to my In-Laws whose Ruritan club donates every year in honor of Kari. If ever you need an idea of something who needs service or donations or a charity who is worth the cause, I would recommend the Shriners. Without them, we would be alot worse off than we are :) So, special thanks to the guys in little cars and funny hats! To the SHRINERS!!!

Carving Pumpkins

I'm sorry to say that if you have seen us carve pumpkins before, this years does not really compare. I couldn't find the little kit thingy. However, the fun part about it was that Kari got to design the pumpkin this year, so I guess it was a side bonus :) But poor Justin just wasn't challenged at all :( Oh well, the sacrifices a father must make...

Getting the design set out.




Peek-A-Boo


Lights on {clap, clap}


Lights off {clap, clap}


My little poser. Always willing. She has, however, taken a fondness to "Mr. Pumpkin Seeds". She fed him cinnamon toast (pretend) for breakfast today, and has included him/her/it in all our activities. He came to the store with us (pretend), and she even made sure his shoes and socks were on... Sigh, what is she going to do in a week when I have to throw him out?

Owie

Kari had a bit of a fall in the bathtub the other day. Doing something I had already told her not to do. I don't think it was too bad, but she wore a bandaid for 2 days!!! Trust me, that is a long time. Not to worry though. All better :)

Dress up

It appears Kaitlyn has caught the bug from her sister. You have seen several of Kari like this. Now, it is Kaitlyn's turn.

Cinnamon Toast Face

Kari asked for it for breakfast this morning. Justin says I don't make it correctly. :) In his family they had a toaster oven, and they would but the butter, sugar and cinnamon onto the bread and then pop it into the toaster oven. The sugar crystalizes and stuff. Well, I don't have a toaster oven, but Kari still likes it :)

D-D-D-D-D-Dora

Kari has a spoon and fork set (given to her by an aunt and uncle I believe) that has Dora on it. The other day, Kaitlyn picked it up and started "singing". It took me a bit to figure out she was singing and what it was, but, once we found out, she does it every time she picks up the fork. And she carries it around during the day. Cute kid :)

In other words...

I also wanted to rant for a minute about being sick. If you don't want to listen to me complain, don't read on :)

I am not sick very often. In fact, this time is the first time I have been to the dr (not for a baby purpose) in, about, 5+ years. The last time I want was because I was peeing blood (gotta love those bladder infections) (I know, I know, alot of information). I remember this because it was during the time we were on a SCUBA trip when we took a SCUBA class before Justin left for the Army. I was scared to go potty in the water because not only was I peeing blood, but the medication made my urine an even brighter color. Luckily we were doing our open water dive, and no one seemed to notice, or care. Anyway, on with the program. I don't like to be sick, and I don't really know how to do it "gracefully". On top of that, I guess when I have had a cold before, it has never been a full fledged sinus infection. My eyebrows have never hurt. Oh my goodness!!! I can't believe it!!! So painful!!! I finally broke down and went to the dr after 2 pretty agonizing days with a 3 year old and a 15 month old not understanding why mommy wouldn't bend over (all the fluid rushed to my forehead sinuses making it worse). So, I am on antibiotics and benedryl (to help dry everything up). I am finally feeling a bit better. I am tired of blowing my nose, and poor Justin says I don't snore, but I breathe VERY loudly (since I normally breathe through my nose, and at the moment, that isn't possible). So... the dr said I should be feeling better by the weekend. Heres to the weekend! Thanks for listening to my rant!

Interesting

I hadn't thought about it like this. I have to admit it puts a whole new like on things though. I am not so fond of Kari going to school next year and learning about Princes marrying Princes. I did/do believe "Marriage" is between a man and a women. But I also had to admit I didn't really care of gay people got some kind of "union" thing. I honestly didn't care as long as it didn't interrupt my life. Well, I guess I should think again.

Kari Princess

Just a few of Kari. She played dress up last night in the cute Cinderella dress (and shoes). Notice the dance moves from the wedding pictures. Ya I know, and no, I really don't know...



Also, it was finally cold enough here for Kari to wear the dress that I made while I was out in CA this summer. It is a bit old fashioned, but I think it is super cute. And it was a pain to make, but thanks to mom who speaks direction-ese, we got it done. Ain't she cute?!?!

It's raining outside

So, its a nice day to stay inside, right?

Last night Kari asked to spend the night in her tent, so here is a couple of pictures of the girls in their "Clubhouse Tent" as Kari has named it. They have all kinds of books and toys in there, and they can stay relatively quite while they play together (or at least side by side).




And a picture of Kari on her bouncy ball. It turned out to be a great birthday present. And love the pig tails :)



And the last few are of Kaitlyn. Kari got out her princess dress up stuff, but decided she didn't want it on. So, she tried it on Kaitlyn. And, much to my surprise, Kaitlyn left in on. In fact, she liked it so much, when they fell of, she asked to put them back on. And when she woke up from her nap, she put them back on. So cute! Too bad the earrings are the size of her head! I guess she takes after her aunt Pickle. :)


And in this picture, Kari wanted to take a picture of the cupcake or her shirt. She wasn't trying to hide from the camera. As if she would ever do that!!! :)

Check out those shoes! The greatest, huh?

Done been tagged

Well, I done been tagged. It was a while ago, and I believe more than one have done it. I should also note that I don't generally follow all the rules as far as tagging someone else, or expecting them to follow, so... Lets just see how this goes....

1. I tried labor with both of the girls. After pushing with Kari for 6 hours and Kaitlyn for 2, and ending up with C-sections both times, this one will be scheduled. Which also, however, means that I will be needing help, since after the surgery I cannot lift more than 10 lbs (specifically... my other 2 children)

2. I went skydiving for my 18th birthday and am SCUBA certified. I just went SCUBA diving in France while I was there over the summer. I would like to go white water rafting again, and think rock climbing is fun (though tiring). However, I will not bungee jump or kayak. For some reason those things don't sound safe to me... ;)

3. I am not very good a browsing on the internet. I know people who can spend hours on it. If I don't have something to do, I get off.

4. I used to be able to do a handstand and then bend my back so my toes touched my forehead (so my body was in a backwards o). I don't think I can do that anymore.

5. I would love to play the piano, but I am too shy to play infront of people.

6. I actually craved pickles with this pregnancy.

7. I wish I was more creative and artsy. But, I guess I am decent at copying someones ideas and personalizing it for myself.

So, there are my seven... I am supposed to tag 7 others... Lets see. Thompson, Laura Dudley McIntyre, Bonnie Sims, Becca Jo (Who tagged me, I think), Sarah, Aubrey, and Suzi... I even came up with seven!!! Yay me!

Mommy's Talent

Some of you have heard this story before, but, here goes...

We were watching tv the other day and they were doing a show about talents. They said talents were something you did well or often. So, I asked Kari what her talents were and she said, watching tv, playing with her toys and playing with her sister.

I asked her what she thought my talents were and she thought for a second before replying "Telling people to turn off the tv." At least I know I am doing my job :)

Wedding pictures

We recently got back from VA where we were able to take part in my SIL's wedding. It was great, and the girls had so much fun being around everyone again. Kari got to see her "cousmims" for the first time in a long time and it was so fun to let them play together. It could have been better maybe if Kaitlyn wasn't cutting 4, yes, count them, 4 teeth, but, I suppose it could always be worse. My mom was able to make the flowergirl dresses for the three little ones, and they turned out fabulous!!! Here are some pictures from the reception.

Couple of pictures of Kari and Ashley doing her dance. I think she got it from an episode of Backyardigans where Pablo goes surfing.




Ashley and Kaitlyn dancing together. Ashley didn't want to bend over, and Kaitlyn was perfectly happy to be held, so... it worked out :)




The bride and her girls


Kari and her daddy



Daddy "Dancing" with the girls... and by dancing I mean throwing around :)








Kari Twirling



Kaitlyn Pictures